


Where's Our Love

by WhatsaBex



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: 5x10 AU ending, F/M, Gen, Hurt, Lots of Angst, macriley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:07:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29930436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsaBex/pseuds/WhatsaBex
Summary: "Did it work?""Did what work?""Hiding your feelings, letting them pass. Did they go?"What happened after the question.5x10 ending AU
Relationships: Riley Davis/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 130





	Where's Our Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CassieJohnson05](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassieJohnson05/gifts).



> WHAT AN EPISODE! The cliffhanger was killing me and I know you too, so here's my take on what I wanted to happen.   
> Which would never happen on the show, but doesn't matter.  
> This is Part 1, tomorrow or maybe Wednesday I am planning a Part 2 based on the promo for 5x11.
> 
> For now, enjoy.   
> Love you all, xx

**PART 1**

Mac’s heart has never been so loud in his entire life. Even though he was a man of science and knew it wasn’t physically possible, he still wondered if Riley heard it two feet away, trying to break out of his chest. He had no idea why he was here, really. He just wanted to know.. No, he  _ needed _ to know if she still felt that way about him. 

In the last couple of hours he couldn’t help but go over everything that happened. He could have tried to forget about the last 24 hours, as Desi suggested. It would have been so much easier to go back to everything as if Murdoc never showed up. Yes, it would have been easier and he might have chosen that option if it wasn’t for one tiny detail: Riley. He didn’t really care about anything else that Murdoc said, but the thought that he was the only reason he got to know about Riley’s feelings hurt him a little. Why couldn’t she come to him? Though she already said her reasons, he still wished she was the one telling him.  _ Riley has feelings for me… had.  _ Somehow the past tense was something he couldn’t get over. 

But what about Desi and the proposal? That was also something he couldn’t stop thinking about. He should have chosen pretending after all?

But pretending was just another way of lying, and he knew how terrible he was at that because a certain brunette already told him once. So here he was now, standing right in front of her asking if her heart moved on, partly longing for but also dreading her answer.

“Riles?” 

“Mac, I…” Riley couldn’t know where to look. Out of all the people, Mac was the last one she expected to see there. Although, she had to admit in the back of her mind she wished he showed up. She wished he said to her…  _ No, stop it, answer him!  _ “Mac, I already told you, I don’t want to make things complicated or hard for you and Dez.”

“You’re not answering my question,” Mac looked at her so intently she felt he was looking right into her soul. Why did she have to say it out loud for the second time that day? Why did she have so say anything when it was all written on her face and he could read her better than anyone. 

“You said yourself, emotions are not science,” Riley finally seemed to give in and Mac sucked in a sharp breath. 

A part of his mind said it’s best if she says yes, her feelings are gone. Then he could have gone home and pretend today didn’t happen. But could he? Really? How could he ever forget that this amazing woman, who he respected and cared for, had once loved him, but he didn’t know. The other part of his mind kept praying her answer was no, she couldn’t let her feelings go. This was definitely a harder path to go on then. If she still had feelings for him, he knew there was no turning back. He could have lied to himself again about that moment, back in the kitchen… Because the way she said, she buried those feelings and let them pass. It was all too familiar to him. He did the same and now here they were: buried under secrets, lies, heartbreak and lost hope, the question was if they could maybe save each other.

“No, it didn’t work,” Riley admitted and hoped her voice was not shaking. She had to be strong, for both of them. She knew it would have made no sense to lie, and she didn’t want to. After today she learned her lesson: it’s best if he hears things like this from her, before a maniac comes and uses it against them. 

Mac snapped out of his reverie and forced himself back to the moment.  _ No, she said no, that means she is still… _ When he asked the question he didn’t think of what the next step will be. And now she said she still had feelings for him. What was he supposed to do with that?  _ Do what you feel is right.  _ Without even noticing he took one step closer to Riley.

“But…” Riley took one step back at the same time as she saw him move. She didn’t know what he was planning, maybe hug her, or just come closer. It didn’t matter. Right now all she wanted was a little peace, a second when she could finally breathe again. Because the way Mac was looking at her right now, it didn’t help her heart at all. She closed her eyes, shook her head, as if it could do anything against the lingering feeling in her hands to touch him. “But the reason they are not going anywhere is because a part of me will always care about you. I want you to be happy, Mac, and this morning, before everything you seemed happy. Weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was.” Mac had to admit she had a point, he was excited this morning, genuinely. “But that was before. Listen, Riles, I care about you, too, and I want you to be happy. I can’t just go back to the Phoenix and act like none of this matters. Because it does! Knowing that you have feelings for me…”

“Don’t change anything,” Riley interrupted. She had to gather up all her strength to say the next words, she felt she had the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. “Keeping this secret was  _ my _ decision, Murdoc had no right to tell you. And now I am asking you to forget it.”

“How could I?” Mac didn’t mean to raise his voice like that, but Riley was asking him to do the impossible. Riley was stunned in front of him, not knowing what to do now. She never saw Mac so distraught, so helpless. All because of her secret. Suddenly she wished she hit Murdoc harder when they were in Mexico, he definitely deserved more. “Riley, you are the only person who has been there for me when everybody else thought I lost my mind. Since the day we met you were nothing but kind and supportive, knowing that you always have my back helped me go on so many times you can’t imagine. I just can’t go on, live happily like nothing happened, knowing you are hurting… I can’t do that to you!”

Riley’s heart was breaking for the man in front of him. 

“Hey, look at me,” and now she couldn’t stop her hands framing his face making sure he looked her in the eyes. “You are not doing anything. The only thing that hurts me is seeing you like this. Please, don’t let this take away what we have.”

“You mean so much to me, Riles…” Mac wanted to say so much more about how grateful he was for having her in his life, how losing her would have made him crazy. Hell, he wanted to pull her to his chest, let her listen to his heart, how insanely fast it was beating because of her. Yes, all because of her. He couldn’t deny it, since he heard her secret it was the only thing on his mind. But at the same time the promises he made for Desi, the plans he had, they kept coming back for a split second always derailing his thoughts about Riley. He was a mess, but one thing was for sure: “I don’t want to lose you.”

“Like you could, Angus!” Riley smiled even though her heart was breaking with every second Mac was there. Riley’s smile was the only thing that seemed constant in his life now: it didn’t change with the secret. It was still warming his heart, and made him feel loved.  _ Because she loves me… _ “I promised you never will be alone, and there is no way I let Murdoc make me break my promise.”

For a while which felt like a second for Mac, but an eternity for Riley, none of them said anything. They were just looking at each other, waiting for a sign of what to do next. Riley’s heart was already out there forcing itself to beat even though it hurt. Mac wished he thought of a plan, at least think about what he really wanted to say to her. Not like he usually had plans. But right now, he had to face the only moment when there was nothing to improvise. The famous Angus MacGyver was defeated by love. 

“I can’t pretend, Riley,” he said again, the same thing but this time with resignation, not excitement. 

“Then don’t,” she said. She should have known once the secret was out, no one could put it back in the bottle and hide it. “Mac, this is all new and shocking for you, I know, and I do know that you want to understand it. It’s just the way you work. But you can’t fix this, because there is nothing to be fixed. I said I am alright and I mean it. And yes, before you say anything, yes, I also said I still have feelings for you. You had a right to know and I wish I was the one telling you. But my feelings or Desi’s cannot determine yours. This is not how it works, you can’t run around like this.”

“What do you suggest then?” Mac asked a part of him being a little amused by how smart Riley was. He never noticed how her words always got to him, always made him centered even when he was literally losing his mind. 

“I wish I could help you. You know, I would go till the end of the world to help you, damn, I already did!” Riley laughed and shook her head to try to get the tears out of her eyes. Traitors, they were about to ruin her act of trying to save what was left of him and Mac. “You have to find out what is best for  _ you. _ Stop thinking about what I feel, what Desi expects, what anyone thinks! You are an amazing person, Mac, and after everything you have been through you deserve happiness.”

“So do you, Riles, you deserve someone who loves you with all of his being,” Mac said, and he tried not to feel guilty when he noticed how sad Riley’s smile was. It wasn’t the first time he saw that, and yet it was the first time he realized what it meant. How much she must have been hurting, just because he was stupid to never look what was right in front of him. 

“It’s really late, you should go home, have some rest,” Riley suggested, hoping this was the last time she had to talk about her secret which was now an invisible wall between him and her. Nothing was going to be the same now and it hurt her more than knowing she wasn’t the one for him. No matter how much she tried, she was about to lose a part of what they shared with Mac. She still put on a smile for him, assuring him everything was going to be fine. “See you tomorrow, okay?”

Mac watched her eyes look down the floor then back at him, when she said they will meet tomorrow. Her eyes, those beautiful deep eyes that always made him smile like a school boy. He pulled her in for a long hug, not caring about anything in the world. He was at his safe place, as long as Riley’s arms were around him, as long as he could feel her breathing at his neck, and her rapid heart beat, nothing could hurt him. 

Riley was on the verge of crying, even though she already cried enough for MacGyver. No, this time she was mourning all the moments they would have shared in the future if Murdoc didn’t ruin it. But there was nothing to be done. Her heart couldn’t be saved, but Mac’s could, and she intended to help him out of this confusion as much as she could. Starting with pulling away from his embrace.

The moment their bodies parted, both of them felt the air change. A shallow breath stuck in Riley, Mac could see her eyes dilating, as his hands slowly caressed her arms. A shiver ran through her body and it made him shiver, too. Mac couldn’t believe that he was so blind. This woman, this breathtaking woman was willing to sacrifice her happiness for him, just because he was too dumb to realize his own feelings. When their eyes met, electricity filled the air, and Mac could have sworn time stopped. It was just her lips and his inches away, trembling from unnamed force. 

“Good night, Mac,” Riley stepped away first, before her body betrayed her and she did something that would have ruined the rest of their friendship.

“Good night, Riles,” Mac walked out of the open door, looking back only once with such a huge smile on his face. He came here to get an answer from Riley. And instead of the one her words told him, he chose to take home the answer her heart whispered through her eyes. Her feelings were there, and they worked as a magnet pulling his feelings to the surface. Now he knew where his love was all along, all he had to do was find a way to get to her heart that was pulling away. 


End file.
